The France Semester went into the realm of international business with the presentation at Cornell Auditorium at Plaster Hall Oct. 6.

History and international business merged last week when Dr. Mary McKinley, professor of marketing at the Ecole Superieur de Commerce et Management in Tours, France, presented her lecture “Marketing in the 25 Countries of the European Union-French Global Effects.”

The lecture, Oct. 6 in Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall, covered topics such as the history of French alliances. These alliances include the Norman conquest of 1066, agreements with Scotland and Hungary during the 13th and 14th Centuries, and the Treaty of Alliance between the United States and France in February, 1778.

“This treaty was signed in Paris and delivered to George Washington, who was struggling to hold on at Valley Forge,” she said. “This was the first recognition by a foreign power that there was a United States of America.”

McKinley also discussed the foundations of the European Union. The European Coal and Steel Community was formed by Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, France Italy and the Netherlands in 1951.

“They felt that if they could achieve peace they could form some type of union,” she said.

In 1957, the Treaty of Rome was signed which established the European Economic Community. It became the European Union in 1992.

Out of the 25 European Nations, 19 nations are members of the European Union. Great Britain, Denmark and Ireland were the first nations to join the European Union in 1973. Romania and Bulgaria have been approved to join beginning January 2007.

Today’s European Union boasts the third-largest population after China and India. The largest nation is 82.5 million, while the smallest nation in the EU is Malta, with a total population of 387,000. Governmental offices are divided among four cities. Brussels, Belgium, is the administrative center of the European Union. Strasbourg, France, hosts the legislative center while the judicial center resides in Luxembourg, Germany. Frankfort, Germany, hosts the financial center and the European Union central bank.

Marketing products in the European Union fall under specific guidelines.

“You can’t imply that purchasing a certain product will make you feel inferior. You can’t objectify women in ads, and you have to put the exact price in the ads,” McKinley said.

After the lecture, Dr. McKinley spent time chatting with some of the audience members.

“As an international business major, I believe this lecture was really beneficial because it helps to learn more about the area you are going into,” said sophomore Tara Johnson.